1. Field
The instant invention relates to root crop harvesters, particularly potato harvesters, having primary and secondary beds for transporting dug potatoes away from the ground and wherein the shovel means are attached to the primary bed. The striking of large stones by the shovels frequently causes damage to typical harvesters.
Root crops such as beets, carrots, turnips, onions and the like are frequently harvested with harvesters similar to those used for harvesting potatoes.
2. Prior Art
Potato harvesters heretofore utilized were generally two row harvesters having a primary bed with a pair of shovels attached to the leading edge of the primary bed. The shovels and forward section of the primary bed could be lifted from the ground to facilitate turning of the harvester and transport. The primary bed was separated from the secondary bed to minimize maintenance problems associated with long conveyor chains and to allow the secondary bed to operate even if one primary conveyor failed.
Typical harvesters have a cross-conveyor to receive potatoes from the secondary bed conveyor. The potatoes are then transported to a picking table by a side elevator, then to a boom conveyor which may be swung into a fixed lateral position to the harvester to discharge the potatoes into trucks. The lateral boom is occasionally damaged by being struck with a truck.
The shovels are frequently straddled by flat disks, often known as coulter wheels, which cut vines and the earth on either side of a row of tubers to assist the shovel in dislodging and uprooting the tubers with a minimum of damage to the tubers. These disks are occasionally damaged when striking a stone.
Potatoes and small stones, unearthed by the shovels, pass over the shovels and onto the primary bed conveyor. Occasionally a stone becomes lodged between the rear edge of the shovel and the primary conveyor, causing the harvester to halt or causing damage to the primary conveyor.
A typical potato harvester widely utilized in harvesting tuber crops is described in U.S. Pat. No. 23,827 of Peterson. This device has an elongated primary bed which conveys the potatoes to a lateral conveyor.